(2010-09-23) Usv Invests Shapeways

Union Square Ventures has invested in Shape Ways. Desktop Fab moving foward! Shapeways was founded in the Netherlands but with this financing the company will move its headquarters to New York City. With MakerBot here and Shapeways arriving, we are also excited to see New York becoming a center for a new kind of manufacturing.

About half of Shapeways’ customers come to the site to buy presents like 3-D puzzles and jewelry they could not find anywhere else, Mr. Weijmarshausen said. Other customers tweak a set of design templates to put their own takes on cuff links or napkin rings, while other concoct their own creations from scratch with software like Google SketchUp.